Top 5 Car Crashes Involving Athletes

Athletes are some of the highest-paid people in the world. People excelling in their respective sporting events often get hundreds of thousands, even millions, of contracts from their team or sponsors. Given their high-paying jobs, it is almost automatic for them to own powerful or exotic drives to the envy of many. However, fame, fortune, and fast cars oftentimes don’t mix too well.

Here are top 5 crashes of some of the world’s most famous athletes:

·         Tom Brady’s Audi. Before the start of the 2010 National Football League (NFL) season, the hair-conscious quarterback crashed his Audi sedan where a driver ran a red light.

·         Michael Phelps’ Escalade. The record-breaking champion swimmer figured in an accident with his Cadillac SUV. The driver of the other car was sent in the hospital for minor injuries. He may be the best swimmer that there is, but as a driver? We don’t think so.

·         Usain Bolt’s BMW M3. He has been able run 27 mph perfectly, but for speeds higher than that, he can really be deadly. He lost control of his BMW M3 while on the roads. It’s a bit odd that the fastest man can’t handle an equally fast car well.

·         Tiger Woods’ Escalade. The pro-golfer may be good at making the golf ball go to where he wants it to be, the hole. The same cannot be said though with his 2009 Cadillac. After he pulled out of his driveway, he struck a fire hydrant and a tree. If only he could use his golfing talents to driving.

·         Dennis Rodman’s Range Rover rollover. The basketball star was known for his daredevil drives to save the ball.  The famed Bull might have basketball in mind when he had his Range Rover SUV tumbling upside down. Like in his games, Rodman got away with minimal scratches but his Range Rover is definitely heading the junkyard.

Driving Under Certain Conditions in the State of California

Every driver in California must be responsible with themselves while on the road, especially under specific conditions. If the weather is not fine or the sun has gone down, every driver must make certain adjustments to make themselves and other motorists feel comfortable with their driving. Here are some of certain outside conditions and the corresponding adjustments that drivers in California must do:

•    Driving amidst the fog. Drivers must drive slowly, turn the windshield wipers, and use low beam headlights. In a thick fog, it is best to pull off the road for a while. Drivers must wait for the fog to subside until they can see well.

•    Driving in darkness. When driving in the absence of artificial light sources such as lampposts, it is also advised to drive slowly. Drivers cannot see far ahead and they only have little time to step on the brakes for a hazard. When it rains at night, drivers must turn on the low beam headlights.

When driving at night, drivers must be aware of the pedestrians and bicyclists as they are much difficult to see on the road. Also, motorcyclists are hard to see at night because they only have a taillight. It is also important for drivers to know that highway construction happens mostly at night, and that they must proceed slowly when passing through such.

•    Driving under falling rain or snow. Oil and dust that accumulated on the pavements may cause the road to become slippery, especially when it rains or snows. It is important for drivers to proceed slowly and with caution at the first sign of rain, drizzle or snow. Windshield wipers must be turned on, as well as the low-beam headlights and the defroster.

How Pain and Suffering Damages Are Determined

Damages are referred to as an award given to a person as a form of compensation for a certain loss. This mostly applies in the aspect of law, particularly in personal injury. When a person sustains a significant injury that greatly affects his or her life in general, he or she can recover damages.

Most of the time, damages are usually determined in monetary value or in dollars. In a court decision or off-court settlement, the liable party who caused harm towards the injured person must provide the latter with the determined amount of compensation.

There are other forms of damages, though, which can be entitled to a person as compensation but, in essence, does not have a certain value in dollars. One of them under this criteria is the so-called “pain and suffering” damages. This is a legal term referring to the overall trauma of the victim’s physical and emotional aspects following a personal injury accident.

Law firms specializing in personal injury, as well as insurance companies, usually determine pain and suffering by taking a look at the following:

The nature and the type of injury the victim sustained;

The severity and pain the person endured; and

The expectation that a person may experience pain on a certain period of time.

Spinal Cord Injury: Early Symptoms that One Should Know to Avoid Further Complications

Spinal Cord Injuries (SCI’s) are often the result of vehicle crashes.  This form of injury debilitates the body since it impedes the movement of the victim. SCI is so lethal that it can lead to the eventual death of the person who sustained it.

SCI is a medically known as a bodily injury caused by an external force. This traumatic force causes the nerves of the spinal cord to be severed, which in turn leads to the disruption of nerve impulses sent to the brain and to the different parts of the body. 

The spine is the highway for neurological transmission, and once it is damaged, the body parts below it will fail to function as well. Those who have a dislocated or damaged spine may be paralyzed or may go in a coma. 

One of the places with the most number of vehicle crashes, which can lead to SCI’s, is the state of California, particularly the city of Los Angeles. Based on the statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 588 traffic fatalities had been reported in the area in 2009. 

It is not determined how many exactly sustained SCI from the said number of crashes, but it can be thought that these accidents may have also resulted in such injury. 

To avert the swift progression of SCI, immediate treatment is needed. Therefore, a motor vehicle accident victim should be informed of the initial symptoms of the ailments so they could seek medical assistance at once. This includes the following:

·         Pain from the spine

·         Inability to move any part of the body

·         Body tremors

·         Inability to feel changes in temperature

·         Muscle spasms

·         Difficulty breathing